1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical switches.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has been common practice to design electrical switches with flexible electrically conductive cantileverally mounted blades carrying contacts from the free ends thereof and flexible to engage such contacts with stationary electrical contacts to complete a circuit through such switch. Such switches suffer the shortcoming that the flexibility requirements of the blades are dictated by the limited forces produced by conventional actuators thus severely restricting the current carrying capabilities of such blades.
Further, switches have been proposed that include relatively stiff blades which are pivoted at one end and carry electrical contacts from the free ends thereof. A switch of this type is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,695,939. In the operation of such electrical switches, the contacts thereof frequently become welded together due to arcing between contacts during making and breaking thereof. In such instances, it is desirable to have a safety feature whereby the switch will still open upon actuation thereof to thus assure discontinuance of current to the load being controlled. The switch shown in the above-mentioned patent fails to provide this safety feature.